“The stories we love best do live in us forever.” — J.K. Rowling

2019 Resolutions

I’m a little behind on New Year’s resolutions, but I needed time to really think about what I wanted of 2019 and of myself. I still don’t really have that answer, but I do know one thing that I want to define the year: books. To read a plethora of books and to share my thoughts about them with all of you.

Oh and travel. A lot of traveling. So that’s two things I want from this year.

You could say those have become annual resolutions for me. In 2019, though, I yearn to do more. I want to expand my literary presence and stray a bit from my normal genres. I want to tap into the titles that make my family and friends come alive. I want to know authors whose passions and backgrounds might differ from my own.

Here, I present to you my 2019 reading resolutions.

Just a few recent adds to my bookshelf.

Read more.

I read 27 books last year (the review for There There, which I finished hours after releasing my ranked list, is coming soon, and I can promise it’s a good one). Although I told Goodreads I wanted to read 28 in 2019, I’d like to up the ante to 30 because why not? Reading gives me joy, so why not get more of it through a few extra books? Plus, it’s the only way to introduce the below genres into my rotation while keeping up with the ones I hold so dearly: chick lit, historical fiction, contemporary fiction, etc.

Read more nonfiction.

It’s not that I don’t like nonfiction; I just find immense joy in fictional tales. However, to be a great nonfiction writer is to be a genius writer, so I vow, this year, to pick up more narrative nonfiction, essays, and, yes, even memoirs. In fact, my first pick of the year is a memoir, and I can promise you it’s a hit.

Read more sci-fi.

I tried my hardest to like the one science fiction novel I read in 2018, The Forever War. As I confessed in my review, my confusion and lackluster feelings toward that book had more to do with me and my inexperience with the genre than toward the book itself. The only way to cultivate better feelings is to read the genre more. This should make my partner happy, the sci-fi fanatic he is.

Read more thrillers.

I never regret reading a thriller. They excite and hook me, especially the well-written ones. I really have no reason for not reading more thrillers, so I will give my best effort this year to pick up more of these books, which have long been forgotten on my shelf.

Read more diverse authors.

Fourteen of the 27 books I read last year were written by white women. My library could definitely use some diversity and so could my brain. Reading perspectives that differ from my own are not only interesting, but they’re also necessary to better connect with people of all shapes, sizes, colors, love, and backgrounds. Times up on narrow-minded reading.

So here’s to great year of books, travel, memories, and happiness. Let the reading begin!

Have any suggestions for the above resolutions or have any reading resolutions of your own? Let me know in the comments below.